A teenager who appeared in Orange Local Court on Monday requested to be sentenced with anything other than community service but that was exactly what he got.
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The 17-year-old, who cannot be named due to his age, appeared in court to face charges of stealing and common assault as well as breaching a good behaviour bond he was given for a break and enter in Orange.
About 2.35pm on October 2016, the teenager and a male co-accused went into a cafe in Cobar where they took a customer’s mobile phone.
According to police facts, the victim and a witness had gone to the cafe to use the free wifi and recognised the teenager and co-accused when they walked in.
Police said because the victim recognised the pair he didn’t hesitate when the co-accused asked to see the phone but was surprised when he passed it to the teenager who refused to give it back and took up a fighting stance when confronted.
The victim and witness followed the pair when they left the cafe and reported the matter to an off-duty police officer who stopped the co-accused from assaulting the victim in a vacant lot and arrested both the teenager and the co-accused.
When asked for the mobile to be returned the teenager pulled the dismantled phone out of his pocket and handed over the sim card separately and during a search a tool kit for dismantling and repairing mobile phones was found in the co-accused’s possession.
The Cobar offences were a breach of a good behavior bond that was issued in Orange Local Court for a break and enter at the former Bunnings Warehouse on May 16, 2016 when the boy cut through a barbwire fence, smashed a glass door with a hammer and stole two angle grinders.
He was arrested on May 18, 2016, after police found the stolen items after carrying out a search using a warrant at his home.
The boy was supported by his mother in court on Monday and said he did not want to do community service because he was worried he wouldn’t be able to concentrate.
However, magistrate Terry Lucas sentenced him to 100 hours community service for each matter to run concurrently and revoked the good behaviour bond.
“If you do that no problem, you’ve got a future but you are not hanging around the right crowd,” Mr Lucas said,
“You certainly haven’t been in that much trouble compared to some other blokes I’ve sent [to jail].”
